Draft gear



6 Sheets-Sheet 1 vwantoz: @ma/52M DRAFT GEAR March 3, 1936. E. H. SCHMIDT Filed Deo,

EE. H. SCHMIDT 2,032,441

DRAFT GEAR Filed Dec. 5l, 1930 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 March 3, 1936.

March 3, 1936. E* H, SCHMIDT 2,032,441

i DRAFT GEAR Filed Dec. 31, 1930 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 March 3, 1936. E. H. SCHMIDT DRAFT GEAR Filed Des. 3l, 1950 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 N QV S5] Snom/WO1:

06m/LW E. H. SCHMIDT 2,032,441

March 3, 1936.

- DRAFT GEAR Filed Dec. 5l, 1930 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 25 I I vwenfoz:

March 3, 1936l E. H.- SCHMIDT l DRAFT GEAR Filed Dec. 31, 195o 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 vwantoz: @mZ/11565221@ @Hoff/maj :Q s b Patented Mar. 3, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DRAFT GEAR of Ohio Application December 31, 1930, Serial No. 505,793

5 Claims.

This invention relates to railway draft gears. A feature of the invention is the provision of a novel and improved draft mechanism not only effective in draftv or pull but furthermore providing a greater shock absorbing capacity in buff than in draft, whereby increased capacity is rendered available for the absorption of the comparatively heavy shocks which occur in buff. In

carrying out the invention I provide shock absorbing means having a greater effective travel in buff than in draft. A further feature of the invention comprises the provision lof a draft mechanism comprising a member mounted for movement in buif but not in pull and engaged by means for generating friction in cooperation with said member for absorbing shocks; relative movement between said member and a portion of said friction generating means being provided in draft, and between said member and the entire friction generating means in buff. Other features of the invention will be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a view, in side elevation, with certain parts in vertical section, illustrating an embodiment of my invention.

Fig. 2 isa horizontal sectional View, partly in plan, on line II-II of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical sectional view on an enlarged scale, taken on line III-III of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a transverse vertical sectional View on line IV-IV of Fig. 5.

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view on an enlarged scale, of the draft gear shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Fig. 6 is a horizontal sectional view on line VI--VI of Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a detail View, partly in vertical section and partly in elevation illustrating the manner in which the retaining bolts may be applied to and removed from the gear case.

Fig. 8 is a transverse vertical sectional view on line VIII-VIII of Fig. '7, with the retaining bolt omitted.

Figs. 9 and l0 are detail perspective views of a washer which cooperates with the retaining bolt.

Fig. 11 is a view partly in side elevation and partly in vertical section of a modified form of draft gear embodying my invention.

Fig. 12 is a transverse sectional View on line XII- XII of Fig. 11.

Fig. 13 is a view partly in plan and partly in horizontal section on line XIII- XIII of Fig. 11.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, a

standard coupler shank is shown at 5, and is connected to a horizontal yoke 6 by a key I extending horizontally through a slot in said shank and through slots 8-8 in the arms of said yoke. Between the butt of the coupler shank and the rear Wall 6 of said yoke there is interposed a draft gear comprising a case 9 and a pair of followers or wedge members I0, II extending into the ends of said case. At the rear of the yoke and secured to the draft sills I2--I2 is a conventional stop element I3. Carrier irons I4, I5 are secured to the draft sills and serve to support the draft gear. The usual cover plate is shown at I6. The key I extends through slots I2-I2 in the draft sills as indicated.

The'draft gear case 9, as shown in Figs. 3 6, may be rectangular in form and is shown provided with an integral web I1 extending horizontally across the interior of the case in the central portion thereof. A recess I8 extends through said web and through the side walls of the case; and there is passed through said recess a key I9 which extends through slots 20-20 in the arms of the yoke 6 and thence through slots 2I-2I Iin the draft sills. Vertical walls or partitions 22, 22 extend across the case 9 above and below the web I'I, and, as shown, merge into said web, one of said partitions 22 also merging with the top wall 23 of the case and with the side walls 24, 24, and the other of said partitions merging with said side Walls and With the bottom wall 25 of the case.

Through the Walls or partitions 22, 22, the case 9 is divided into forward and rear compartments 26, 21 respectively, in each of which compartments there is positioned shock absorbing mechanism cooperating with the corresponding wedge members I0, II. The shock absorbing mechanisms in said compartments are shown as duplicates of each other, although, if desired, different forms of shock absorbing mechanisms may be employed in the respective compartments.

Each of the shock absorbing mechanisms herein shown in the compartments 26, 21 comprises a pair of friction members 28, 28, seated in opposite side walls 24, 24 of the case 9. Said friction members are shown in the form of rectangular blocks having lateral projections 29 at their inner ends, each of said projections entering a corresponding one of a plurality of recesses 30 in the side walls of the case. To resist the inward thrust of the friction members 28 the case 9 is provided with abutments 3| against which the members 28 bear at their inner ends.

On opposite sides of each of the friction members 28 and in frictional engagement therewith 21 are engaged by the correspondingly inclined faces 34 lof wedge member I I.

Mounted centrally Within each compartment 28, 21 is a spring 35; each of said springs-bearingv at one end against a central portion 36 of thecor'- responding wedge I0 or II and atiit's'eopposite'end against a corresponding washer element 31. The washer elements 31 are each.: mounted'f upon a respective one of a pair of bosses 38 projecting from and integral with opposite sides of tlreweb I1. The inner sides of the abutments 3:.Iy adjacent each boss 38` are curved, asvindicated at 38v in Figs. 4 and.8 to-accommodate the associated spring 35;.

Surrounding the central spring 35=in eachrcompartment is agroup of four springs 40.; one for each ofthe friction=shoes 32 in the. compartment, and positioned in the-four cornersof said compartment as shown in Figs.. 3, 4, and 5. Each of said springs bears at its inner.V end against one or the other of the central vertical walls or partitions 22,22. At their outer ends; two .of the four springs. 40T in each compartment engage one of a pairof followers4'l, 4I in the compartment and the other two of said springs engage the other of said.v followers. Ea the inner faces, 42 .o the projectionsv 32." of. a pair of the shoes 32; eachfollower extending from a shoe cooperating. with'.v one friction member 28.

to ashoe cooperating. with a friction member on.

the. opposite side.r of the casel 9;. Each spring 40 is` shown as comprising both an. inner coilY and' lan outer coil, and each follower is provided with bosses. 43- extending intov the inner coils of the associated springslll) asshoWnin-Fig. 6.

The. abutments 3l. are provided with upper and lower extensions 44 (Fig, 8). which mergeintoA the walls. of the case, and theseV extensions arev provided with curved. faces 45 for accommodating the springs 4`0,.as` shown in. Figs.. 4 and 8.

The wedges. IIL. II aremaintainedv in assembled relation'to.VV the case-l 9 by bolts 46'., 45; Each` of said` bolts at its inner endv is. engaged with one of the bosses3il4 and at its.outer end. extends through the end Wall 41 of. a. recessed portion or pocket 48 in. the wedge IIJ or I.I-. Nuts. 5U are threaded on .the4 outer ends-of saidbolts Within said pockets..

To; provide for the expeditious application and removal of the bolts with respect.v to. the case 9, I have provided the construction. which will. now be specifically described in connection with one of said bolts. (with particular reference to Figs. 540)...

The web I.1 is providedwith upperand. lower slots 5I of sufcient widthto-permit the, headY of. the bolt. to be. received therein. The boss 38 comprises-an enlargedY portion 385' having a recessed interior 52 shapedto. receive the head of the. bolt.and.said boss. also comprises a reduced portion 38" recessedl on its interior. for receiving the body ofthe bolt. Thebottoms. of both the bossfportions 38.2.38 are slotted at 53"', 53, respectively, these slots beingof sufficient width to permitvthe body, but. notr the. head. of the: bolt to. be passed therethrough.` The Washer 31 comof said` followersY engages prises a boss 54 which is adapted to extend inside the spring 35 and with an opening or recess 55 through which the body of the bolt 46 is adapted to extend. An extension 56 within said recess has its upper surface curved to form a seat for said body. Said extension also fits into the slot 53" of the boss portion 38 when the washer is in assembled relation to the boss38. The washer 31 further comprises a projection 51- which is adapted to fit into the slot 53' in portion 38 of boss 38;` Said projection 51 has its upper surface 51 shaped to conform to the head of the bolt. The Washer 31 is held in position on the boss 38 by the engagementy of the. spring 35 with said washer.

The manner in which a retaining bolt 46 may beremoved will nowbe apparent and is illustrated in Fig. 7, wherein said bolt is shown moved in- Wardlysufficiently. tobring its head opposite the slots 5I in web I1. The nut 50 has, of course, been rstremoved from said bolt, and the associated wedge, friction shoes, and springs have been taken out of. the. case. The washer 31 has` been slid; outwardly (i. e., toward. the adjacent open end of the case)y so that. its extensionsi, 51 are disengagedfrom the boss38.4 Itwill be apparentthat the bolt may nowbe readily moved downwardly so that its head passes through. thelower slot 5I and itsbody passes through. the slots. 53.', 53 in boss 38.', whereby said bolt. may be.. removed fromv the. case 9. Application of. the. bolt. to the. case side of the slots 2 I, 2I'in the draft sills, as shown.Y

in Figs. 1 and 2. llrrdraft. or pull,Y the coupler shank5, through key 1 and". yoke 5 forcesA the wedge II forwardly.. Since the.v key I3.y engages, the front sides ofthe slots 2.I,. 2.I.`the. case 9.is. heldagainst forward. movement, and thus the parts in the rear compartment 21 are placed under compression. whileV those. in. the.- front compartment. are not. The slots 20 in the.V arms of the. yoke VI are of sucient. lengthto permit. movement of the yoke and coupler in draft with.- outV interference bythe key Il9. The. movement ofv the'coupler, shank in draft. is transmitted to the rear wedge II andV is resisted bythe central. spring 35 which actsdirectly against. said wedge, by the springs 40, which cooperate: with the'f'ric-v tion shoes 32 engaged. withv said wedge,i and Vby the friction generated. between saidshoes and. the. associated. friction members 28. Said shoes, under the influence of the. inclined surfaces 34 of said wedge II and the action of the. associated springs 40, are maintained, in` firm.V frictional engagement with the friction members during the ward movementby the stop I3, andthe butt of said shank acts upon the forward wedge I9. The slots 8 in the yoke arms are of sufficient length to permit the coupler shank to move in buff without interference from the engagement of the key 1 with said arms. When the coupler shank moves in buff, said shank transmits the bufng force to the wedge I9 and the latter thereupon acts upon the friction shoes 32 and springs 35 and 49 in the front compartment 26. At the same time, the slots 2l, 2| are of such length as to permit movement of the key I9 and case 9 rearwardly from their normal position shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Thus, when the coupler moves in buff the case 9 is moved rearwardly and the shock absorbing mechanism in both compartments 26 and 21 are brought into action. The slots 2|, 2l may, for example, be of such length as to permit movement of the case 9 through two inches, and if the wedge I9 and cooperating friction shoes are permitted to travel two inches with respect to the case it will be seen that a total of four inches travel of the gear in buff is provided. The movement of the wedge II with respect to the case 9 in draft or pull may, at the same time, be two inches, with the result that the total effective movement of the gear in buff is twice the movement of said gear in pull. The extents of movement above indicated are illustrative merely and may be varied so that the movement in buff may exceed that in pull by such amount as may be desired. Bufling shocks are generally more powerful than those occurring in draft, and it will be seen that by the mechanism above described I have provided for greater shock absorbing action of the gear in buff than in pull, whereby increased capacity is available for handling the bufng stresses.

The extent of relative movement between each wedge and the case 9 is such that just before the springs go solid the peripheral ange 58 of the wedge will engage the adjacent end of said case.

While I have shown the projections 29 of the friction members 28 in firm engagement with the openings 39, a limited amount of clearance may be provided between said openings and projections longitudinally of the case. In this way the initial compression of the gear may be opposed simply by spring action and the further compression thereof by both spring action and the frictional resistance between shoes and friction members. The extent of preliminary spring action may be varied by varying the amount of said clearance and the capacity of the springs.

In the form of my invention shown in Figs. 11, 12, and 13, I have shown a friction member 69 which is engaged at one end by a pair of shoes 6 I, acted upon by a wedge member 62, and at its opposite end by a pair of shoes 63 which are acted upon by wedge member 64. The assembly of wedge members and friction member is interposed between the butt of the coupler shank and the rear wall 6 of the yoke 6 (Figs. 1 and 2), just as is the assembly of wedges I0, I I, and case 9; the wedge 62 being engaged by the coupler shank butt and the wedge 64 by the rear wall of the yoke when the assembly is in normal position. II'he friction member is provided with a slot 65 through which the key I9 may be passed.

The shoes 6I are engaged by a spring seat 66 and the shoes 63 by a spring seat 61. The friction member 60 has formed integrally therewith at its central portion a pair of upwardly extending projections 68 and a pair of downwardly extending projections 69. A web o-r partition 19 extends across the space between the projections 68 and is formed integrally with the friction member and with said projections. Similarly, a web or partition 1I, integral with the friction member and projections 69, extends across the space between the last-mentioned projections. Interposed between the spring seat 66 and the respective partitions 19, 1I, are the springs 12, 13; and likewise, springs 14, 15 are positioned between the spring seat 61 and said partitions. The

inner walls of the projections 68, 69 are curved as indicated at 16 in Figure l2 to conform to the countour of the springs and to accommodate and center the latter. The spring seats 66, 61 each have side flanges 11 embracing portions of the extending inwardly into the grooved portions.

of the friction member, as indicated in Figure 11.

For retaining the wedge 62 in assembled relation to the friction member 69, bolts 83, 84, are provided; the bolt 83 passing through projection 69 of the friction member and through a lug 85 on the wedge 62, and the bolt 84 passing through projection 68 and through a lug (not shown) on the wedge similar to lug 85 but diagonally opposite the same as will be apparent from Figures 11 and 12. Similarly the wedge 64 is maintained in assembled relation to the friction member by bolts 86, 81 diagonally opposite each other; each of said bolts passing through a respective one of the projections 68, 69 and through a corresponding one of diagonally opposed ears on wedge 64, one of said ears being indicated at 88. The heads of the bolts 83, 84, engage the respective projections 68, 69 on one side thereof while the heads of bolts 86, 81 engage said projections on the opposite side. It will thus be seen that movement of the friction member 69 under the influence of the springs upon release of the gear is positively limited by the heads of the bolts aforesaid so that said friction member cannot be moved by either set of springs beyond its central position. The two sets of bolts 83, 84 and 86, 81 aforesaid thus provide means for positively centering the friction member upon release regardless of variations in the action of the springs.

It will be seen that when the gear of Figures 11-13 is interposed between the coupler butt and yoke of Figures 1 and 2, in the same manner as the gear shown in those views, the movement of the coupler in draft acts through the yoke to bring into action simply the wedge 64 and associated friction mechanism at the rear of the member 69, said member 69 being prevented from moving forwardly by virtue of the engagement of the key I9 with the front edges of the slots 2 I, 2I. When the coupler moves in buff, the yoke 6 and rear stop I3 prevent rearward movement of the wedge 64 and the coupler butt acts upon the wedge 63 not only to move said wedge and associated shoes with respect to the friction member 60 but also to move said friction member with respect to the shoes engaged by the wedge 64,

Y that in draft.

The terms and expressions which I have employed are used as terms of description and not of limitation, and I have no intention, in the use of such terms and expressions, of excluding any mechanical equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof, but recognize that various-structural modications are possible within the scope ofthe invention claimed.

I claim:

1. In a railway draft gear, a case having a Webextending across theinterior thereof, shock absorbing means including aV Wedge cooperating with said case, a retaining bolt engaging said Wedge, said web having a boss slotted for reception of the body of said bolt and said Web having an opening for receiving thehead of the bolt during assembly of the parts, said boss also having a recessed interior for reception of the head of the bolt when the parts are in normal assembled position, and a washer seated on said boss and engaging saidk bolt and also having an extension projecting into theslot in said boss.

2. In a railway draft' gear, a case having a web extending across the interior thereof, shock absorbing means including a Wedge and a spring engaging said Wedge, a retaining bolt engaging said wedge, said web having a boss engaged by said bolt, a slot in said boss forrreceiving the bolt and a Washer mounted on said boss and engaging said bolt, said washer being also engagedV by said spring.

3. In a railway draft gear, a case, friction elements in opposite Walls of said case, friction shoes engaging. said elements on opposite sides. thereof; projections in said case forming abutments for said elements, a wedge engaging said shoes, a spring disposed centrally of said case and en,- gaging said Wedge, said abutments having curved faces for accommodating said spring, pairs of springs on opposite sides of the iirst mentioned spring and acting upon the respective shoes, and extensions on opposite sides of each of said abutments and merging With,v said case, saidi extensions having faces curved for accommodating the springs ofv said pairs.

4. In a railwaydraft gear, a case having` a web; extendingv thereacross, shock absorbing mecha nism comprising a Wedge and a spring engaging the latter, al boss on. saidv web having a recessedy interior and a slotted portion, a retaining bolt engaging, said Web and having aV headv seatedi in the recess in` said# boss, and a Washer mounted on said boss and having a projection providing: a seat for the bolt, said Washer also having anY extension engaging the slot in said boss and. hav'- ing on its opposite face a projection for centering saidi spring, and said Web having an opening for permitting` insertion or withdrawal of the. head of. said bolt.

5. In a railway draft gear, a case having a Web extending across the interior thereof, shock absorbing means including a Wedge cooperating with said case, a retaining bolt engaging said; wedge, said Web having a plurality of slots there-A in, one of said slots being adapted for receptionV of an end of said bolt during assembly of the parts, and a key passing through another of said slots adapted to limit movement of saidgear, said key being positioned behind the head of said re.- taining bolt to limit rearward movement thereof during compression of the gear.

ERNEST H. SCHMIDT; 

